Business Roundtable

Washington D.C. – In time for the 2007 hurricane season, the Business Roundtable’s Partnership for Disaster Response, a cross-industry task force of the nation’s top companies, developed new educational resources through all phases of disaster—prepare, respond and recover—to help the private sector better prepare and respond to disasters.

The following educational resources can help company’s business continuity, security, communications, human resources and contributions departments refine their company’s disaster plans and are available on www.respondtodisaster.org, the clearinghouse of information on disaster preparedness and response.

1. Family Preparedness Guide— intended for all employees to educate them about personal/family disaster preparedness and encourage them to take specific actions
2. Human Resource Guide on Benefits and Financial Issues — designed for HR leaders to help them support employees whose lives have been affected by a disaster
3. Protecting Your Business— a guide for security, real estate, tax and legal staff on issues to consider when sharing office space after a disaster
4. Rebuilding Communities— advice for philanthropy and community relations leaders to help set priorities in contributing to long-term recovery efforts

“In addition to swiftly responding to disasters with money, products and expertise, we play an important role in educating our workforce about preparing for disasters to help themselves, our communities and our businesses,” said Richard Keyser, Chairman and CEO of W.W. Grainger Inc and Chairman of the Partnership for Disaster Response. “Advance planning is critical to safeguarding our employees, businesses and communities and can mitigate the effects of a disaster.”

Since 2005, the Partnership has been working closely with the federal government, relief agencies and other business organizations to foster public-private collaborations, develop plans and identify deployable resources throughout all phases of disaster response to ensure that the business community’s response efforts address the most critical needs and mobilize the unique technologies and resources of its member companies.